We had great pleasure in interviewing a former Royal Navy specialist believes honesty, structure and logic are the most underrated tools in the locksmith’s kit.
Chris Levy is not a locksmith who just drifted into security. After 25 years in the Royal Navy, much of it spent at the sharp end of electronic warfare, intelligence gathering and counter-surveillance, locksmithing was a natural extension. Fenris Security, launched in Plymouth in 2023, sits at the intersection of physical security, penetration testing, counter-eavesdropping, locksmithing and carpentry – a blend that makes Levy’s approach distinctly different.
Forged in Service
I joined the Royal Navy when I was 16, I served on four warships and ended up leading departments responsible for electronic warfare, anti-ship missile defence and intelligence. Security wasn’t theoretical; it was real, it was layered, and it was unforgiving if you got it wrong.
In my last five years, I became deeply involved in counter eavesdropping and physical penetration testing. That meant assessing buildings, doors, locks, safes, routines – finding weaknesses and exploiting them to prove a point. I finished my naval career as the Head of Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM), running more than 200 operations worldwide.
When you spend that long looking for vulnerabilities, you stop seeing locks as products and start seeing them as systems.
Locksmithing as a Security Tool, Not a Trade Add-On
After leaving the Navy, I was headhunted by QCC Global as a TSCM engineer. The work involved covert installations, surveillance countermeasures and physical penetration. Locksmithing became part of the role, when you’re testing security properly you need to understand door mechanisms inside out.
I used my military resettlement credits to train as a locksmith with Keytech. That training for me wasn’t about becoming a domestic locksmith, it was about enabling penetration testing and strengthening my professional toolkit.
Alongside my role, I helped friends and family, quietly building my practical locksmithing experience on the side. When I needed to move back home to Plymouth, opening a small locksmith business made sense.
Building Fenris Security
Fenris Security started small. Initially, I partnered with my friend Steve, another ex-Navy lad, to test the waters. Over time, the structure evolved. I’m still a contractor with QCC, delivering specialist training and testing, but Fenris became the single umbrella for everything I do.
Plymouth is a seaside city with strong competition in locksmithing. Breaking into the market isn’t easy, and word of mouth is king. You can earn trust slowly here and that suited me. I still collaborate with Steve at Safeguard Locksmiths, we share work, support each other and avoid the lone-wolf mentality that hurts the trade.
What Fenris Actually Does
It’s just me running the business. On bigger jobs, such as heavy doors and awkward installations, my 19-year-old son Harrison comes along. He’s a plumber by trade but work is scarce, so I’m cross-training him in carpentry and locksmithing with an eye on making Fenris a family business.
Day to day, I cover:
- Lock replacements and repairs
- Cylinders, rim cylinders and ironmongery
- Non-destructive entry
- Composite door realignment and mechanism replacement
- Wooden door carpentry, frames and architraves
- Smart and digital locks
- Fire doors, emergency egress and security doors
Favourites & Frustrations
My favourite jobs are new doors! I like a blank canvas to work with, no inherited bodges, no hidden sins, just doing a great job and admiring the nice newly fitted door afterwards.
No two days are the same. One minute you’re swapping a mechanism, the next you’re drilling out rusted screws that haven’t moved since the 1980s. Jobs expand, time disappears and frustration creeps in.
One night at 11pm, I turned up to help a student locked out, only to discover she’d called five locksmiths. We ended up settling it with rock, paper, scissors! While my wife sat patiently in the car – I didn’t win but it was a funny night!
Expectation Management: Why Customers Trust Fenris
What I enjoy is meeting people, solving problems and learning something new every day. Customers are trying to find the best person at the best price. I respect that.
I approach every job by offering three options: gold, silver and bronze. Full upgrade, partial improvement, or service what’s already there. Sometimes the most ethical and cost-effective solution is to make what they have work better, not sell them something new.
That’s my mindset: honesty, integrity, logic – it’s drilled into you in the military and it never leaves. My USP isn’t speed or price. It’s expectation management. Everything has a logical answer. There is always a reason something failed and a structured way to fix it. I explain the problem, the options and the consequences. No pressure. No scare tactics.
I don’t believe in £49 call-outs that turn into full system replacements. That behaviour damages the trade.
There are bad apples in locksmithing and far too many cowboys. I’d like to see proper regulation, clearer standards and more accountability in the sector. I will be looking at joining the MLA in the future and aligning Fenris with the Armed Forces Covenant. It signals values of discipline, fairness, service – not just skill.
Marketing the Modern Way
Most of my marketing is on social media, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, alongside my website and Google listing. I record videos of jobs and how I’ve tackled challenges and fixes. It features real work and problems of locksmithing and makes for great content.
I’m also the resident locksmith and carpenter for a children’s charity across five sites supporting autism and ADHD. That work matters to me, I feel like I’m giving back by making a real difference.
Suppliers matter too. Duffells supply around 90% of my materials. Their WhatsApp helpdesk is outstanding – you can send a photo, and they source the part! Vivid Doors supply my doors. Paul Sauber at Sauber Tools, Paul Batty and Steve Lister at Safeguard, deserve shoutouts they’re my trusted allies.
Outside the Van
I play ice hockey for the Plymouth Phoenix and the Royal Navy team. I also freestyle skate with my youngest, to keep fit and stay sharp. I lived in Gibraltar for four years and was once head of design for a theatre group, that’s where I learnt my carpentry skills.
The military gave me structure and discipline. Civilian life often lacks both. Fenris Security is my way of keeping those standards alive in a trade that desperately needs them.
Looking Ahead
Over the next few years, I want to grow the client base, refine marketing and expand into UPVC, windows and glazing. The goal is sustainability, not scale for the sake of it.
If I can bring my son fully into the business, pass on skills and build a family business built on great ethics and resilience, I’ll consider that success.
www.fenris-security.co.uk
Christopher.levy@fenris-security.co.uk
07305 242 673
Fenris Security is a Plymouth-based security and locksmithing business founded by Chris Levy. Drawing on over 25 years of Royal Navy service and specialist experience in technical surveillance countermeasures, Fenris Security delivers locksmithing, physical security, risk assessment and penetration-informed solutions with a focus on integrity, logic and professionalism. The Fenris and Raven symbols represent protection, vigilance, wisdom and intelligence – values embedded in every aspect of the business.